Touchstone's Editors and Allies on News and Events of the Day

November 02, 2007

Indoctrinate U

Yes, that's the name of a new documentary movie about campus PC, and here's an example of it in Delaware, as reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer. At the end, they give the following example of what's been going on, something that not all students and faculty are happy about:

One-on-One Sample Questions The University of Delaware's student
diversity training required freshmen to meet one on one with dorm
resident advisers to answer these questions and others. The university
says the program was voluntary, but students in some dorms were told it
was mandatory.

1. When were you first made aware of your race?

2. When did you discover your sexual identity?

3. Who taught you a lesson in regard to some sort of diversity awareness? What was that lesson?

4. When was a time when you confronted someone regarding an
issue of diversity? What was the confrontation about? If haven't, why
not?

5. When was a time you felt oppressed? Who was oppressing you? How did you feel?

6. Can you think of a time when someone was offended by what
you said? How did that make you feel? How do you think it made them
feel? How did his/her behavior change toward you?

Will they offer a questionnaire asking students who are indoctrinated by 'diversity training' "how did it make you feel?"

1. When were you first made aware of your race? About a week into track season.
2. When did you discover your sexual identity? When I discovered blue tights and a red cape under my street clothes.
3. Who taught you a lesson in regard to some sort of diversity awareness? Mere Comments. What was that lesson? What--you mean the Eastern Orthodox aren’t Jewish?
4. When was a time when you confronted someone regarding an issue of diversity? Last time I posted on MC. What was the confrontation about? How wrong the other guys were. If haven't, why not? N/A
5. When was a time you felt oppressed? The last time I lost an argument on MC. Who was oppressing you? Stuart Koehl, no doubt. How did you feel? Guess I’ll have to sic James Altena on him.
6. Can you think of a time when someone was offended by what you said? No doubt also the last time I posted on MC. How did that make you feel? Smug. How do you think it made them feel? Beaten. How did his/her behavior change toward you? They don’t diss me no more.

>>.The indoctrinators usually prefer to avoid that less flexible category, and focus instead on sexual orientation.<<<

But orientation only concerns one's preference in partners, whereas identity covers how one perceives one's self. This leads to all sorts of incongruities, like a male transexual who thinks he's a woman who is also a lesbian.

Big negative reaction, program withdrawn.Late Thursday, University of Delaware President Patrick Harker released on the school’s website a Message to the University of Delaware Community terminating the university’s ideological reeducation program, which FIRE condemned as an exercise in thought reform. He stated, “I have directed that the program be stopped immediately. No further activities under the current framework will be conducted.” Harker also called for a “full and broad-based review” of the program’s practices and purposes.

I hope a lot of people heard about this program and started to ask what other colleges have similar programs. It is only by people waking up to what goes on at most colleges that the dire state of colleges will be forced to change. I suspect, though, it's like people's attitude to the public schools: The schools as a whole are mess, but mine is great. Same as the attitude towards one's congressman. Still, this was probably the most widely publicized college atrocity yet, and it's a good start.

I am actually less concerned about what Delaware did, which is so in-your-face and obnoxious that it likely was counterproductive, but in the more subtle forms of indoctrination which occur at colleges and which, over the course of the years there, have a more harmful and lasting impact, the more so because the students don't realize how much their attitudes are being modified. The former is like a flash flood, the damage of which everyone immediately recognizes; the latter is like the slow but more lasting actions of water erosion, which do perhaps more damage but do it in such little measures that it is only by looking back over a long period of time that the changes can be detected. As a result, the latter is not effectively resisted.

I think Greg underestimates the intelligence and good sense of our college students, who know when they are being sold a bill of goods. They treat this stuff as the chickensh-t that it is (such a useful term, probably because the stuff permeates our whole society), and tune it out much as they tune out commercials. The only ones who buy into it are people who are determined to be professional activists and grievance mongers, who will some day have academic careers, and thus have little chance of doing permanent harm to the world.

I think you underestimate the slow erosion of traditional attitudes. Tolerance indoctrination, which is what much of this is about, is often very subtle. The Delaware example is what every student notices. It is the little things that go unnoticed which nonetheless have their effect. It begins with contemporary children's books, TV shows, movies, etc., all of which have messages of tolerance and acceptance which are meant to prepare the children to view tolerance as one of the cardinal virtues. Tolerance is, of course, a virtue when we are referring to people. Actions are, however a different matter, but the whole effort is to identify the people with their actions in such a way that to be intolerant of the latter is to be intolerant of the former.

The effort continues throughout childhood and into college. Thus we see the increasing acceptance of same-sex relationships as one moves down the age scale. You and I can distinguish between the person and his actions and so, can have a homosexual colleague at work with whom we have a good working relationship without our tolerating their sexual activities. As one moves toward the younger ages, indoctrination has caused the younger generation to be less able to make this distinction. A lifetime of indoctrination begun with Disney movies up to and including college have had their effect. While you can certainly point to individuals in the younger generations with whom this indoctrination has not worked, repeated polling results show that it has had a great deal of success. Every younger generation is more tolerant of same-sex behavior and the demands of the gay rights activists than the generation before them. That is not by accident and is certainly not a coincidence without a cause.

I agree with GL on this. And there are many other attitudes besides ones toward same-sex relationships that get inculcated from a child's earliest years. One is that the earth is sacred and in great danger from mankind (not humankind as I'm too old to have been inculcated with that one). Children are given a load of guilt about it being their responsibility to save the earth. Some kids who are brought up right might be able to laugh it off, but it's a constant refrain in all the things Greg mention -- children's books, TV, etc., not to mention classrooms.

Then there's non-judgmentalism, which is judged to be so important that it extends far beyond same-sex relationships into just about every area of life. And there's the notion that there are special protected victim groups covering almost everybody. And that competition is bad. And that there's something wrong with defending yourself physically. And on and on and on. It would be a rare child who doesn't pick up at least some of this.

Open Hearts, Open Minds
Often identified as the cornerstone of University initiatives aimed at making campuses more inclusive for students, staff and faculty who have had their hearts broken, the establishment of Open Hearts, Open Minds Program represents an important step towards creating a campus environment that embraces diversity among its citizenry.
Nobody, no lobby group - gender-based or otherwise - has the monopoly on broken hearts and failure in love. A campus dedicated to addressing broken hearts needs to have educational and training programs institutionalized with the university. That’s why we offer courses like Love and its Myths, and Introduction to the Love of Wisdom (aka Philosophy), Homes and Homelessness, War and Peace, etc.
The Open Hearts, Open Minds Program brings visibility and support to broken- and open-hearted communities at the university. Participants who have completed the educational component of the program feel and think better about life. There are no stickers or buttons. But we are ready to provide information and referrals, or not – depending . . .
The presence of someone who has had their heart broken, yet still persists in trying to love and to reach out, raises awareness of the differences that exist on campus and sensitizes others to both subtle and overt forms of denial about love, reciprocity, devotion, attachment, worship, identity, commitment and risk. This program is a reflection of the university’s commitment to welcoming and including all members of its community and to create a campus that is free of an unacceptable discrimination which is based on the idea that only one sub-set of the broad population has experienced failure in love and a broken heart.
Those who feel they need or want to participate and endorse the aims of the Open Hearts, Open Minds Program are given neither a sticker for posting nor a button. They are expected to be human. Furthermore, they are expected to provide, at all times and in all places, inside the classroom and outside, support about being human, and to indicate that they are familiar with issues about humanity, failure, success, grief, joy, rejection, and celebration.
There is no membership fee, nor any meeting to attend. You just dry your eyes, and try to start over.

Mr. Koehl: >>I think Greg underestimates the intelligence and good sense of our college students.... The only ones who buy into it are people who are determined to be professional activists and grievance mongers, who will some day have academic careers, and thus have little chance of doing permanent harm to the world.

Mr./Mrs./Miss (d*** these androgynous names!) Lathangue: >>This program is a reflection of the university’s commitment to welcoming and including all members of its community and to create a campus that is free of an unacceptable discrimination which is based on the idea that only one sub-set of the broad population has experienced failure in love and a broken heart.

>> This leads to all sorts of incongruities, like a male transexual who thinks he's a woman who is also a lesbian. <<

This is actually not unknown. There are some middle-aged men who get sex changes around ages 45-50. They usually continue to pursue sexual relationships with women, and in the case of the third person linked below, actually stayed married.

>>>This is actually not unknown. There are some middle-aged men who get sex changes around ages 45-50. They usually continue to pursue sexual relationships with women, and in the case of the third person linked below, actually stayed married.<<<